Drinking receptacles come in a variety of different shapes and forms, depending upon the specific needs of the user. Generally, most drinking receptacles comprise a storage or bottle portion into which fluid is stored for drinking, and an outlet either attachable to the storage or bottle portion or formed in the storage or bottle portion, through which the fluid is able to flow to the user. The manner in which fluid flows from the storage or bottle portion through the outlet portion can also vary, with some outlet portions being configured to allow for liquid to freely flow therefrom, whilst others only permit fluid to flow from the outlet portion when a suction force is applied to the outlet portion.
A common type of receptacle that releases fluid upon the application of a suction force to an outlet is an infant feeding bottle. Infant feeding bottles generally comprise a cylindrical body portion for containing the fluid, such as expressed milk or infant formula, and a flexible teat portion attachable to an opening of the cylindrical body portion which is configured to be placed in the infant s mouth to release fluid to the infant as the infant applies suction to the teat portion. In this regard, most infant feeding bottles are based on the principal of replicating as close as possible a natural breast feeding situation, and as such, a variety of different shapes and styles of teats have been proposed in an attempt to more naturally replicate the process.
In most conventional infant feeding bottles, the teat portion is generally formed of two parts, a flexible teat and a collar. The flexible teat is typically made from an elastomeric material, such as silicone, TPF or similar material having an opening formed therein through which the fluid can flow and a flange formed around a perimeter of the material. In order to assemble the flexible teat to the cylindrical bottle, the flexible teat is typically placed over the opening to the cylindrical bottle such that the flange is positioned on the rim of the bottle and the collar portion is then placed over the flexible teat and screwed onto the cylindrical bottle such that the flange is captured between the collar and the rim of the bottle.
Such a conventional two-piece arrangement is able to be disassembled for cleaning and sterilisation purposes, which requires unnecessary handling of multiple parts by the user. Further, given the nature of the flexible, elastomeric material of the flange being sandwiched between two hard surfaces, namely the rim of the bottle and the collar portion, it is common that upon assembling the device for use, it is often overtightened in the process. This can have a significant negative effect on the flow of fluid from the teat, as the arrangement becomes air tight and air cannot enter the bottle to replace the fluid exiting the teat portion, significantly reducing the fluid flow.
Thus, there is a need to provide a receptacle having an outlet portion that facilitates improved flow of fluid therefrom. Also, when used as an infant feeding bottle, there is a need to provide a receptacle that is more naturally received within the infant's mouth and which provides for controlled delivery of fluid therefrom due to the natural sucking action applied by the infant.
The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. In particular, the above prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part.